Teaching Excellence Award for Practical Resources for Gaza Students initiative
Published: 3 August 2026
The Life Sciences team behind the Practical Resources for Gaza Students (PRGS) initiative, which included Sii pair Professor Olwyn Byron and Professor Adnan Al-Hindi, was recognised with a Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) at the University of Glasgow graduations on Monday, 6 July 2026.
The Life Sciences team behind the Practical Resources for Gaza Students (PRGS) initiative was recognised with a Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) at the University of Glasgow (UofG) graduations on Monday, 6 July 2026.
Launched on 5 February 2026, the aim of PRGS was to provide existing pedagogic resources to support practical aspects of learning by students at the five Palestinian Universities of Gaza Strip (PUGS).
As the conflict in Gaza deepened and severely disrupted higher education, PUGS students continued their lectures and tutorials online, as the situation permitted. However, with university campuses sustaining extensive damage, their lecturers were unable to offer meaningful training in the practical aspects of their degrees.
Recognising this need, the PRGS team built an externally facing Moodle site, onto which they transferred teaching materials generously provided by colleagues across the College of MVLS, and even outwith UofG.
The TEA Panel found the nomination to be exceptionally strong, considered the initiative to be outstanding with an undeniable positive impact on an affected student cohort, and embodying the values of UofG. The resource also demonstrated genuine impact on others, with exemplary global reach.
The team, comprising Professor Adnan Al-Hindi and Professor Olwyn Byron (both School of Infection & Immunity), Dr Lesley Hamilton and Miss Bethany Mansfield (both MVLS Education Hub), acknowledges the support of Professor Nicola Veitch (Sii Director of Education), Professor Chris Finlay (MVLS Associate Dean of Learning & Teaching), Professor Cheryl Woolhead (Dean of Learning & Teaching), and Professor Matthew Walters (Head of the School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing), and, most importantly, colleagues who permitted the transfer of their teaching materials to the PRGS Moodle site.
Following the launch, they have been contacted by colleagues from a Palestinian university situated outside Gaza -Birzeit University, Ramallah - to explore opportunities for collaboration and synergy to the benefit of PUGS students.
To continue the work, the team has applied for support from the UofG Learning and Teaching Development Fund.
If teaching staff would like to see their undergraduate or PGT practical teaching materials included in PRGS (or are unsure whether they are already included), please contact Olwyn Byron.
First published: 3 August 2026